Bruins win Stanley Cup

Five years removed from an organizational blowup exceeding anything in their 87-year franchise history, the Boston Bruins are Stanley Cup champions.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Tim Thomas finished it the way he started it: determined to stop the puck.

The last shot of the night and the 2010-11 NHL season was also the Canucks' 37th, and none of them went in.

The last one, a desperate attempt by defenseman Kevin Bieksa, went the length of the rink through three defenders' legs, but Thomas went to his knees to make sure. The Conn Smythe Trophy winner picked up the puck and sprung to his feet with the shutout to end all shutouts.

Five years removed from an organizational blowup exceeding anything in their 87-year franchise history, the Boston Bruins are Stanley Cup champions.

Their 39-year championship drought ended Wednesday night with a 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena.

"(Thomas) was outstanding. He gave us a chance to win every game," said captain Zdeno Chara, who pumped the Cup to record height, his 6-foot-9 (plus skates) body lurching into the air three times.

The Bruins were due for a great road game, and they picked the best possible time to win away from home, Game 7.

Opportunistic forwards Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand netted two goals each, as the Bruins scored twice the number of goals they had scored in the three prior games in Vancouver combined.

"We stayed even keel all night," said Bergeron, as methodical in celebration as he was in action. "We scored some goals but, that being said, after each and every shift we knew it was about the next shift."

The next shift for Bergeron and the Bruins will be on a duck boat.

"We've got some people waiting for us back home, and we can't wait to meet 'em," said coach Claude Julien, referring to the downtown parade that awaits the Bruins on Friday.

Julien's hockey plan was simple: Beat Vancouver's neutral-zone minefield of trapping forwards by making strong puck plays to get the Canucks defensemen chasing it in their end.

Bang bodies, establish a forecheck, wreak some havoc.

Induce a penalty, create a scoring chance, bear down and bury the biscuit in the basket.

The Bruins didn't feel they had to score first — every team that has scored first has won in this series — but they had to be first to the puck.

Marchand set up Bergeron's goal at 14:37 of the opening period. He'd score in the second period to make it 2-0 and add the empty-netter that clinched the Cup for Boston with 2:44 remaining in the third.

"Every team March plays, he hates," said Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli. "I've got to give him credit ... he's learning right now on the job."

In between, Bergeron stunned Roberto Luongo and the home crowd with a short-handed goal late in the second period to put the Canucks into a 3-0 hole.

The Bruins emerged during this playoff run as an excellent home team by playing a style that looks something like reckless abandon. They have played their best when amped with energy, singularly focused and determined not to be stopped.

In the end, they were unstoppable.

They didn't have the sleep technicians on their side, and they didn't have Nathan Horton or Marc Savard, both nursing serious head injuries.

"When Horton got hurt, that was the turning point, but this team never quit all year long," said Thomas.

Horton made the trip and put on a uniform to celebrate with his teammates on the ice when it all ended. He was asked if his emotional impact on the series made him feel like he was still playing.

"Now it does!" Horton exclaimed.

There is tough and then there's toughness. The Boston Bruins have toughness in spades.

The power play was good when it had to be in the finals, and the penalty kill was good when it had to be.

The Bruins even got some well-deserved luck early in the game.

The Canucks gave the Bruins all they could handle in the first period, and once again Thomas helped them weather the storm.

And in keeping with the pattern of the series, the Bruins struck first and the lead stuck. The Canucks didn't crumple like they had in Boston, but the beatdown was no less decisive.

And so the Bruins silenced a sold-out Rogers Arena and left the crowd outside estimated at 150,000 with only a Presidents Trophy to celebrate.

Julien had never touched the Stanley Cup until Wednesday night.

"I told myself as a player — I never got close to it, I went to the Hall of Fame — I said 'The day I touch that thing is the day I win it,'" he said. "It's pretty heavy. I may have to go in the weight room again."

Mick Colageo covers hockey for The Standard-Times. Contact him at mcolageo@s-t.com and visit www.southcoasttoday.com/rinkrap